Shock:2

Exciting new stuff coming! Check out the pledge goals on the left, there! At the next several levels, you'll see that I'm going to start producing a new edition of my roleplaying game, Shock:Social Science Fiction. Shock:2 is an expression of everything I've learned about writing, science fiction, and game design over the last decade since I first published the game. You'll be the first to be able to play Shock:2 as it comes into existence by becoming a xenophiliac, from analytical and critical essays that help you understand the objectives and processes of my game design, all the way through the final, playable draft before I take it to Kickstarter, where my Patrons will have special goodies waiting for them.

A "namedeal" between a priestess and the river of her city from Lover of Jet & Gold

I write stories and essays, design and illustrate ecosystems, and build languages for societies other than our own, writing, drawing, and podcasting my creations.

Like, check out these
Warriors of the Southern Heart! They're herd animals from the planet Ashlesa that fight, herd-to-herd, in order to reproduce.

Life on Ashlesa is restricted to spots where geysers erupt, forcing chemicals from the planet's pressurized, boiling interior toward the surface, where they form isolated ecosystems. And so, far from the plains of the Warriors live the
Polar Piglets and the tri/penta/octaforms.

And then, of course, there is
prose fiction, where these elements all take flight and interact like living things do. Mostly, these are short stories based upon a particular theme with which I'm experimenting. Sometimes it's about sex and gender construction within a society, or sometimes it's about a particular economic idea, or a world where rationalism doesn't work. Many of them take place within or at the edges of the Academy, but others take place in worlds that couldn't even be in the same universe.
A
quetzalcoatlus northropi takes flight in what turns out to be the wrong posture! Looking forward to doing a new pic of one of these guys taking off as a quadruped!

Until now, these projects have been popular, but I haven't been able to devote myself to full-scale publication, so they fall behind other projects. But they're my greatest love.
Yes, even greater than LEGO robots.

So if you support this
xenoglyph Patreon, you'll be getting these as they come about, every two weeks or so. Some will be big pieces that take many updates to complete, like extended fiction or particularly complex art like a language or sculpture, so those pieces will show the creative process. Some will be short and punchy, like a short story or drawing. Some are in-depth, long-form experiments, like the xenoglyph podcast.Listen and subscribe over here!

Patrons at higher levels will also be able to download
.eReader-formatted PDFs of the creations that they can enjoy on the train or in bed, then collected editions of the larger projects.

So please help me publish these xenoglyphs — these alien scribblings — so that I can share with you these creations that make me so happy.

Tiers

Feed a Porg!

Information Flow

$2 or more per alien ∙ 20 patrons

Every time I create something for xenoglyph, I'll get you an update so you know it's coming! You'll have access to online high-res files, process photos and most importantly, you'll be able to ask me leading questions for me to answer with future art!

Imaginary Loot Box

$3 or more per alien ∙ 78 patrons

You'll get completed xenoglyph compilations in eReader-friendly formats so you can read them on your eReader, tablet, or device of your choosing! They'll be designed for the medium, using my full faculties as a book designer, so they'll be highly legible and thoughtfully designed.

You'll also get a PDF of Shock:Social Science Fiction and Shock:Human Contact PDFs so you can play with these kinds of ideas with your friends!

Often, these include bonus material, from game experiments to process drawings and artist's notes!

Worlds Within Worlds

$10 or more per alien ∙ 7 patrons

Worldbuilding advice! I'll chat with everyone at this level for up to an hour a month on how to build worlds for your roleplaying games, novels, comics, or whatever! When you want to do it, drop me a line and we'll set a time to talk shop!

Shared World

$20 or more per alien ∙ 1 patron

Mutual creator support! You want to make sure another project (yours or someone else's) is getting support? I'll help! Subject to editorial discretion, I'll post on the xenoglyph blog and on a page in each eBook. I'm particularly excited to share other independent projects! You'll get all of the xenoglyph eBook content, of course, and I'd love you in on any Worldbuilding Advice hangouts!

Goals

$330 of $340 per alien

Shock:2 essay series 2:Space Stations to Die OnI'm really proud of all the bibliographies Shock: shows up in. From gems like Tim Koppang's Mars Colony to the elaborate, lush Eclipse Phase game line, to fanfic and short stories and even movie production, it's helped creators make sci fi that matters. This essay series will be about the beating heart of Shock: and how I am augmenting it for Shock:2.These essays will include nanogame sketches to illustrate the principles I’m discussing!

Shock:2

Exciting new stuff coming! Check out the pledge goals on the left, there! At the next several levels, you'll see that I'm going to start producing a new edition of my roleplaying game, Shock:Social Science Fiction. Shock:2 is an expression of everything I've learned about writing, science fiction, and game design over the last decade since I first published the game. You'll be the first to be able to play Shock:2 as it comes into existence by becoming a xenophiliac, from analytical and critical essays that help you understand the objectives and processes of my game design, all the way through the final, playable draft before I take it to Kickstarter, where my Patrons will have special goodies waiting for them.

A "namedeal" between a priestess and the river of her city from Lover of Jet & Gold

I write stories and essays, design and illustrate ecosystems, and build languages for societies other than our own, writing, drawing, and podcasting my creations.

Like, check out these
Warriors of the Southern Heart! They're herd animals from the planet Ashlesa that fight, herd-to-herd, in order to reproduce.

Life on Ashlesa is restricted to spots where geysers erupt, forcing chemicals from the planet's pressurized, boiling interior toward the surface, where they form isolated ecosystems. And so, far from the plains of the Warriors live the
Polar Piglets and the tri/penta/octaforms.

And then, of course, there is
prose fiction, where these elements all take flight and interact like living things do. Mostly, these are short stories based upon a particular theme with which I'm experimenting. Sometimes it's about sex and gender construction within a society, or sometimes it's about a particular economic idea, or a world where rationalism doesn't work. Many of them take place within or at the edges of the Academy, but others take place in worlds that couldn't even be in the same universe.
A
quetzalcoatlus northropi takes flight in what turns out to be the wrong posture! Looking forward to doing a new pic of one of these guys taking off as a quadruped!

Until now, these projects have been popular, but I haven't been able to devote myself to full-scale publication, so they fall behind other projects. But they're my greatest love.
Yes, even greater than LEGO robots.

So if you support this
xenoglyph Patreon, you'll be getting these as they come about, every two weeks or so. Some will be big pieces that take many updates to complete, like extended fiction or particularly complex art like a language or sculpture, so those pieces will show the creative process. Some will be short and punchy, like a short story or drawing. Some are in-depth, long-form experiments, like the xenoglyph podcast.Listen and subscribe over here!

Patrons at higher levels will also be able to download
.eReader-formatted PDFs of the creations that they can enjoy on the train or in bed, then collected editions of the larger projects.

So please help me publish these xenoglyphs — these alien scribblings — so that I can share with you these creations that make me so happy.

Recent posts by Joshua A.C. Newman

Tiers

Feed a Porg!

Information Flow

$2 or more per alien ∙ 20 patrons

Every time I create something for xenoglyph, I'll get you an update so you know it's coming! You'll have access to online high-res files, process photos and most importantly, you'll be able to ask me leading questions for me to answer with future art!

Imaginary Loot Box

$3 or more per alien ∙ 78 patrons

You'll get completed xenoglyph compilations in eReader-friendly formats so you can read them on your eReader, tablet, or device of your choosing! They'll be designed for the medium, using my full faculties as a book designer, so they'll be highly legible and thoughtfully designed.

You'll also get a PDF of Shock:Social Science Fiction and Shock:Human Contact PDFs so you can play with these kinds of ideas with your friends!

Often, these include bonus material, from game experiments to process drawings and artist's notes!

Worlds Within Worlds

$10 or more per alien ∙ 7 patrons

Worldbuilding advice! I'll chat with everyone at this level for up to an hour a month on how to build worlds for your roleplaying games, novels, comics, or whatever! When you want to do it, drop me a line and we'll set a time to talk shop!

Shared World

$20 or more per alien ∙ 1 patron

Mutual creator support! You want to make sure another project (yours or someone else's) is getting support? I'll help! Subject to editorial discretion, I'll post on the xenoglyph blog and on a page in each eBook. I'm particularly excited to share other independent projects! You'll get all of the xenoglyph eBook content, of course, and I'd love you in on any Worldbuilding Advice hangouts!